There is great interest in the development of plastic substrates for, for instance, LCD (liquid crystal display) and OLED (organic light emitting diode) display applications. Plastic substrates are light and tough, and comparatively easy to shape. However, plastics are typically relatively soft and, thus, there is the need to deposit a protective layer on the exposed surface of the plastic. Such protective layers are preferably relatively hard (to provide, e.g., scratch resistance) yet also substantially flexible. In addition, such layers should adhere well to the surface they are coated on.